It is little surprise that mining companies are finding it hard to find skilled staff to fill a myriad of areas, given the skills shortage the industry is facing. What is perhaps more concerning is the ageing of the workforce in senior mining roles, such as the mine planning function, which is a ticking time bomb waiting to hit the industry.
There are a couple of ways mining companies are getting away from this problem. One is to take the mine planning process away from the mine and back to head office, where there is a greater pool of experience. Another is to outsource the mine planning function to consultants – an increasingly common occurrence.
Technology is playing its part in both these solutions. Advances in communication technology means the moving of data from minesite to a head office, even in another country, is much easier and faster than it once was.
Mine planning packages are also becoming more streamlined and taking on more of the mine planning tasks. However, there is a sting in this particular tale – companies need to be careful to ensure they use the “right” data when using mine planning tools. Slight variances can make a noticeable difference to the outcome.
Technologically driven knowledge management tools are also helping companies retain some of the vital experience of their people within their businesses.
Simulation tools are also emerging that let companies try out their approach before they commit to any particular mining or processing approach. One such offering is from a company called Simulus.
Simulus general manager Jason Stirbinskis said about 50% of what the company did was simulating what mines were planning to do. “It’s applying simulation to mineral processing and logistics,” he said.
In simple terms this allows companies to identify potential bottlenecks and problems very early in the planning stage.
Mining software supplier Mintec, which has a range of products to help mine planners, boasts one with a simulation function. Called MineSight Economic Planner, it has a simulation function to test feasible mining layouts in openpit scenarios. The Mintec software also helps mine planners schedule their operations to get the best net present value from them.
Of course one of the major logistical problems that has appeared at several mining projects has been the issue of how to get any product from pit to port. This issue has been noticed by various government transport agencies. Some have put this apparent oversight down to a lack of experience in the mine planning ranks.
It has also become prominent with Fortescue Metals Group’s bid to make use of the BHP Billiton rail line to access an isolated deposit it owns. It should be noted that the BHP rail bid is separate to FMG’s main iron ore project and seems to have become almost a matter of principle. FMG is building its own rail line to cater for its main project, which, coincidentally, will have capacity for other mining companies that may need to get their product from pit to port.
SRK Consulting underground mining project consultant Gary MacSporran said there were a number of levels that mine planning could be taken to.
“You have the big guys who focus on the big picture and risk and the little guys who think virtually from day to day,” he said.
That big picture approach is becoming more complex as mergers and acquisitions add more operations to the mix. This brings out a range of scheduling and product issues. Questions arise such as what part of the deposit should be mined first or, in the case of multiple mines, whether it is worth leaving one operation alone while there are other deposits that can be blended to give a good result.
It could also lead to a scenario where a global miner could ship large amounts of a very low grade resource from one country to another where it has a high grade resource and blend the two to create something that is suitable for a smelter, thereby prolonging the life of the high grade resource and finding a use for something that might otherwise end up on the waste pile.
“It’s taking a view of how do you take your assets and make the most profit from them,” MacSporran said.
The risk with a short-term approach, he said, was that the value of the deposit might not be maximised.
“You need to have a what’s best for the resource focus and you also need to be aware of the economies of the time,” MacSporran said.
“The key performance indicators you give your people have to be correct. You say get me an advance of 300 metres a month and they’ll probably get you 300m a month. But those 300m might not be in the right place.
“You have to be specific about your goals. At the moment, with the commodities boom, it’s metal up the shaft rather than tonnes up the shaft, which is putting a focus on grade. During the slowdown everybody was focused on tonnes.”
Runge Australasia general manager John Buffington said mine planning often came down to the price of commodities. “What we’re seeing is our customers trying to put together systems and tools to assess whether price increases will have an impact on their bottom line,” he said. “Our clients are asking for systems, planned and set up, so they can react to changing markets or demands.”
MacSporran said knowing who the mine’s clients were and what they wanted could make a big difference in how a mine was planned. “You need to get your clients what they want,” he said.
That view is shared by Buffington, who said understanding your business was critical. “Then you need to have the systems in place to handle changes in various parameters,” he said. “By using our Xpac software you can look at different production scenarios and various blending options and better understand your mine and better understand the global impact of changing one of those parameters.”
This sort of simulation and mine planning automation is fine in theory but one problem for mine planners is making sure they have their data right.
MacSporran said technology helped “but while you know where you are digging, are you digging in the right place?” he commented.
“When you’re looking at block models the type of data you’re using can make a difference. We had an argument with a client over where the metal was going. It came down to how the figures were rounded. The geologist had much larger cells than we were using and that resulted in the discrepancy.”
With the diminishing skills base, MacSporran and other consultants such as Coffey Mining chief operating officer Dan O’Toole are finding their firms are being called on to take over more of that mine planning process.
O’Toole said junior companies, in particular, were trying to do a lot more with less technical depth. “A fair component of mine planning is being outsourced,” he said. “It’s either being done offsite at the mining company’s head office or it is coming to consultants such as us.”
Courtesy Australia’s Mining Monthly
